The present invention relates to an image processing apparatus and method for processing data representing moving pictures to generate a representation of the object(s) in the pictures in a three-dimensional computer model.
At present, the content of images produced from video, or other moving picture, data depends on the viewing characteristics of the camera which captured the data. More particularly, the position from which objects are seen by a viewer is determined by the viewing position and viewing direction of the camera with respect to the scene.
As a solution to this constraint, interactive systems have been suggested in which video data is used to create a dynamic three-dimensional computer model of a scene, from which simulated views from any desired viewing direction can be created and displayed to a user. The present invention aims to provide an apparatus or method for use in implementing such an interactive system.
According to the present invention, there is provided an apparatus or method in which images of a moving object are processed to define a planar representation of the object in a three-dimensional computer model. The position of the object in an image is used to determine the position in the model and the image data corresponding to the object is used in its representation.
A plurality of planes may be used to represent the object.
The invention also provides an apparatus or method, in which planar surfaces are defined in a three-dimensional computer model to represent the positions of a moving object recorded in image data, and the image data is used to generate texture data for the surfaces to enable a representation to be displayed. The texture data may be the actual pixel data from the images of the object.
Embodiments of the invention will now be described, by way of example only, with reference to the accompanying drawings, in which: